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POTTSVILLE — Some Schuylkill County businesses will be helped and others hurt by the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed last week on some imported aluminum and steel, local leaders said.

“One needs to be almost surgical with a tariff to have it be effective,” Frank J. Zukas, president of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corp., said. “It depends on which countries the tariffs would apply to.”

Robert S. Carl Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, agreed with Zukas that the effects of tariffs can be different for different businesses.

“It’s most likely going to be a mixed bag,” he said. “In specific areas of business and manufacturing industries, it could be beneficial.”

On Thursday, Trump ordered tariffs imposed on imported aluminum and steel, exempting Canada and Mexico from those duties. The new tariffs — 10 percent on aluminum and 25 percent on steel — will take effect on March 23, and Trump has indicated he might exempt other countries from the increases.

Reaction has been mixed, with some saying the increases will help U.S. manufacturers and others warning of possible trade wars and damage to other American businesses.

Casey emphasized that not every country in the world plays fairly in international trade.

“When foreign countries cheat on trade, Pennsylvania workers lose their jobs. I commend the administration for taking action,” Casey said in a written statement. “When the playing field is level, Pennsylvania workers can out-compete any workers in the world. It’s vital to hold countries that cheat on trade accountable in order to protect Pennsylvanians’ jobs and a good standard of living.”

On the other hand, Toomey stressed his belief that more Americans will be hurt than helped by the new tariffs.

“While it is good that Americans won’t have to pay new taxes on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, reportedly, this new proclamation will, instead, force big tax increases onto American consumers of steel and aluminum from our other trading partners,” Toomey said in a written statement. “The administration invoking national security to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum is a big mistake that will increase costs on American consumers, weaken our economy and invite retaliation from other countries on other products.”

Carl said the world economy makes predicting the tariffs’ effects difficult.

“The economy across the world ... is very complex,” he said. “When you start messing around with the economy, you’re putting artificial boundaries on things.”

One company might be so dependent on a single supplier that an increase in that supplier’s costs inevitably would cause that company’s costs to rise, according to Carl.

Zukas said universal tariff hikes would be bad for the U.S. economy, while more specific ones might not be. He is happy that trade with Canada and Mexico will not be affected.

“Those are the (countries) we have very good trading relations with,” he said.

Hydro, which recently took over the Sapa aluminum extrusion plant in Cressona, does not like the new tariff on aluminum imports.

“While the full impact of these tariffs is yet to be determined, we believe their implementation will negatively affect the U.S. aluminum industry and could lead to trade distortion, retaliation by other countries, increased costs and a higher degree of uncertainty for businesses,” the company said in a written statement.

Anthony Heckman, general manager of Pottsville area metal distributor Steel and Metal Service Center Inc., said he does not anticipate seeing great changes at his company, which employs eight people, as a result of the new tariffs.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect us,” he said. “The effects are going to be on the little guys.”

Larger companies should do better as a result of the tariffs, Heckman said.

Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6014

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